H2O Today, an exhibit organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, is on display at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye now through November 11, 2019. Here, SSC Exhibit Director Jeremy LeClair explains the interactive component Your Weight In Water to young visitors. The exhibition helps guests gain a better understanding of the power of water and the criticality of clean water in daily life worldwide.
Water is the most vital resource for life on Earth; no living thing exists without it. H2O Today—a new exhibition at the Seacoast Science Center—examines the diversity and challenges of global water sources and promotes conversation, creativity and innovation through art, science and technology. Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the exhibition will be on view through November 11, 2019.
H2O Today dives into what it means to live on a planet where 71 percent of the surface is covered in water, yet less than 3 percent is drinkable. It explores the science of water from the hydrological cycle, weather and climate to its physical power as an architect and sculptor of landscape. The exhibition highlights its criticality in daily life worldwide through water power, industry, agriculture and home use. Visitors will learn the affects climate change, population growth and pollution have on the water cycle and weather patterns as well as the creative ways people around the world are tackling the challenges of water shortages and pollution.
“H2O Today is a wonderful collection of water stories from all over the world,” said Seacoast Science Center President Jim Chase. “They remind us of our absolute dependence on water: water is the life giving element that has shaped culture, commerce, the environment, and life on Earth since its very beginning. The Seacoast Science Center is thrilled to be able to bring these global ‘water stories’ to New Hampshire so that we may add our water stories from the Gulf of Maine, the seacoast region, and Odiorne Point State Park.”
The exhibition is part of the Smithsonian’s Think Water Initiative to raise awareness of water as a critical resource for life through exhibitions, educational resources and public programs. The public can participated in the conversation on social media at #thinkWater.
H20 Today is organized by SITES. It was adapted from an exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (www.amnh.org) and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul (www.smm.org), in collaboration with Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland; The Field Museum in Chicago; Instituto Sangari in Sao Paulo; National Museum of Australia in Canberra; Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada; San Diego Natural History Museum; and Science Centre Singapore with PUB Singapore.
SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For exhibition description and tour schedules, visit sites.si.edu.
The Seacoast Science Center open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and is located in Odiorne Point State Park, 570 Ocean Blvd., NH. For more information, call 603-436-8043 or visit www.seacoastsciencecenter.org.
